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Species: A History of the Idea

Online ISBN:
9780520945074
Print ISBN:
9780520260856
Publisher:
University of California Press
Book

Species: A History of the Idea

Published online:
22 March 2012
Published in print:
9 August 2009
Online ISBN:
9780520945074
Print ISBN:
9780520260856
Publisher:
University of California Press

Abstract

The complex idea of “species” has evolved over time, yet its meaning is far from resolved. This work takes a fresh look at an idea central to the field of biology by tracing its history from antiquity to today. The book explores the essentialist view, a staple of logic from Plato and Aristotle through the Middle Ages to fairly recent times, and considers the idea of species in natural history—a concept often connected to reproduction. Tracing “generative conceptions” of species back through Darwin to Epicurus, the text provides a new perspective on the relationship between philosophical and biological approaches to this concept. It also reviews the array of current definitions.

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